Forever Kind of Love

Chapter 27

That night, Kai sleeps in my bed with me. I vaguely understood everything that had happened after the police got our statements. Kai must have talked to Ace because he and Blaire didn't come over, and someone must have told me what happened to Cameron. I just don't want to think about him anymore.

Kai fell asleep only a few minutes after lying down curled around me (he's a perfect big spoon). The exhaustion of today caught up with him quickly. The panic I saw and heard from him earlier were so fierce he must have been in hell searching for me. I know I was.

I'm tired too, drained really, but I'm scared that closing my eyes will force me to think about what happened today. I almost died, and I want to ignore that.

I stay awake for a while longer before my eyes start to droop. I let sleep take me.

Suddenly, I'm jolted awake. I panic, thinking Cameron is back somehow until I realize that it's Kai's strong arms shaking around me. I try to twist around so that I can see his face, but his grip turns to steel and he starts mumbling frantically under his breath. He's having a nightmare.

I go limp in his arms and instead move my hand up to twine with his. I say his name and tell him that everything is okay. I twist my neck to kiss the underside of his jaw. He won't let me move much in his grip, but I think it would be worse to try and fight him right now.

After a few minutes, his grip loosens and his eyes pop open. Kai looks absolutely terrified and it breaks my heart. I want to hug him tight and tell him that he's okay, but I don't want to startle him at all so I stay still. His eyes connect with mine and the wild fear abates, replaced with relief and something else that makes my heart bubble in my chest.

"Amelia," he sighs.

"Kai, it's okay. You're okay. You were just having a nightmare."
"No, you don't understand."

At this my brow wrinkles. He said it so fiercely that I would think he's mad at me if he weren't still pressing me comfortably into his chest. "What's wrong Kai? I ask. He sighs again.

"Baby, it wasn't me getting hurt I was worried about, in the nightmare or in real-life. It's always you."

My heart stops bubbling in my chest for a second before it full-on explodes. Kai's looking at me like I'm more important than the rest of the whole world, and he makes me believe it. He's looking at me like he loves me. For a second, I'm worried this is all a product of today's scare, but this is where we've been headed since the first time we met. Kai is a force of nature in my life, and he's impossible to pull away from.

I gently move Kai's arms off of me before twisting around so that our noses are touching. I smile at him and let him see what he does to me, how happy he makes me. I want him to know that he's more important than the rest of the world, and I want him to really believe it. I love him, and I decide to tell him.

"Kai, I-"

His lips gently seal off the next words. When his mouth moves away, I frown, confused at him stopping me. He pulls my head to his chest and puts his mouth over my ear. "Amelia, I get to say I love you first." I freeze, because seeing it in his eyes and hearing it out loud are different. Kai drops a kiss to my head before pulling back to look into my eyes.

He looks happy and hopeful and confident and beautiful.

"I love you too Kai."